45-year-old Kevin Millar hits a bomb in first pro at-bat in 7 years

Bronson Arroyo is the only guy from the 2004 Boston Red Sox who is still playing professional baseball? Well, he might be the only one left in the big leagues, but there’s another one who played pro ball this year.

That’s right. Kevin Millar came back to the pros on Sunday for what appears to be a one time deal sort of thing. He put on a St. Paul Saints uniform for an at-bat. It went pretty well.

Yeah. That’s right. The 45-year-old, who hadn’t played in the bigs since 2009 stepped up to the plate for his first pro at-bat since 2010, gets a meatball and just rips it. Not only was it a home run, but he kind of crushed that ball. And by kind of, I mean he destroyed that baseball.

As mentioned, it was Millar’s first pro game since 2010, when he was also a member of the St. Paul Saints (who were in the Northern League at the time which the Brockton Rox were also briefly a part of, but not when Millar was there). Why? Because the Saints are where Millar got his pro career started in 1993. Millar was an indy leaguer when he was 21 years old before joining the Miami Marlins (who used the be the Florida Marlins) organization.

Of course, most Red Sox fans just remember Kevin Millar for his three years with the Red Sox (2003, 2004 and 2005). He was the starting first baseman/outfielder (don’t know why he played OF) for the curse reversing 2004 Red Sox (if you believe in curses). During his time in Boston, he batted .282 with 52 home runs and an .813 OPS in 432 games. Not bad.

What’s weird about Millar that a lot of people forget is that he was A. a member of the Marlins for longer than he was with the Red Sox and B. a member of the Orioles for as long as he was a member of the Red Sox (three seasons). Regardless, he holds his rightful place in Red Sox history as the Jack Daniels king.

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